2018

Could it be despair that held me tight

in the wintry evening and the night

I could not see a way to carry on

Everything was wrong and I was done

I saw great blackness all around myself

I could not be restored, I had no health

I had reached the end of seeking aid

G-d alone knew all the coins were paid

Inexplicable, the golden light

That made a sweet shawl round me on that night

Impressing me with kindness and goodwill

Holding me until I ‘d had my fill

Most sensuous, most tangled with love’s grace

Surrounding me, protecting my lost face

As if the arms of love were something real

That anyone who knew this must reveal

Only if we reach the darkest point

Will the force of Love with light annoint

Cut off from humankind in my dark well
Unimagined death had my love scorned
I lay grieving in a prison cell

How did I get here, am I in hell?
My soul was leaving from my body warm
Cut off from humankind in my dark well

Shall I fall where my own lover fell?
I felt such pain,I was a skinless worm
A person grieving in a prison cell

I did not wish in this black place to dwell
I felt a force that pulled till my heart tore
Cut off from humankind in my dark well

In despair I had no thoughts at all
Until a golden light around me formed
To hold this person grieving in her cell

In gratitude great tears ran as I learned
Love had followed me when I was harmed
Cut off from humankind in my dark well
The ladder of his thorns broke my death spell

https://www.tikkun.org/acknowledging-the-others-suffering-a-psychoanalytic-approach-to-trauma-in-israelpalestine/

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This practice of acknowledgment (the act of dignifying and validating others’ suffering with our attention) is often impeded by reactions of denial and dissociation. As a result, the very fact that some people are subjected to great suffering and helplessness makes them and their injuries appear less worthy to those who are safe. The challenge lies in working to overcome denial so that more people can acknowledge their own responsibility for that suffering. come together in a third space that honors the struggle of both?